A History of Indian Literature v2.c19.s3.t2.51

v2.c19.s3.t2.51

Some ascetics and Brahmans once met together, and began to quarrel. Some said: "The world is eternal," and the others: "The world is not eternal;" some declared: "The world is finite," and the others: "The world is infinite;" again some taught: "Body and soul are separate," and others: "Body and soul are but one." Some said: "The perfect man *is* after death," others maintained: "The perfect man *is not* after death" and so forth. Finally all this leads to a quarrel, and to harsh and insulting words. The monks tell Buddha of this quarrel, and then he tells them the following parable:

There was once a king, who had all those who had been born blind, brought together. When they were all assembled, the king commanded